ANNUAL TOP TEN BOOK LIST: A great deal of what I read this year was for either my two seminar courses or for one of several writing projects. But I still managed to cobble out a top ten list, which I present here in chronological order of when I read them: _Ancient Israel_, Robert Alter: My 2013 Christmas Present. Alters translation of the Deuteronomistic Histories (Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1& 2 Kings) is my favorite of his four OT books so far. It is largely thanks to Alter that I finally feel that I am beginning to understand the Old Testament despite allegedly reading it all of my life. _A Stricken Field_, Martha Gellhorn: Read this for the first time for a seminar course on the novels of the great wars. Only then did I realize that I should have read it in graduate school that time that Cecilia Konchar Farr assigned it and I blew it off. _Authoring the Old Testament: Genesis-Deuteronomy_, David Bokovoy: An indispensable tour of the current scholarly understanding of how the Pentateuch got to be the Pentateuch. I just wish that David would stop playing on Facebook and write the next two books in the series ;-) _The Intuitionist_, Colson Whitehead: A recommendation from Darryl Dickson-Carr that I am very glad I listened to. Simply the best novel about elevator metaphysics ever written. _Within a Budding Grove_, Marcel Proust: I am racing Therese Doucet and John Buaas to the end of _Remembrance of Things Past_, and from what I can tell, I am still winning. I read the first three volumes last year, and this one, #2, is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read. _Good Omens_, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman: I didnt actually *read* this. I listened to the audiobook on a long road trip. But Im glad I did. And I would listen to it again. _Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell_, by Susann Clarke: A recommendation (albeit several years old) from Brad Kramer. A wonderful, quirky alternative history--kind of like Harry Potter for people who love words and sentences as much as compelling plots and backstories. _The Miracles of Jesus_, Eric D. Huntsman: A superb contextualization of some of the most important parts of the New Testament, and a very compelling blend of scholarship and devotion. _Glory Spent_, Jean Woodman: This three-generation transition-out-of-Mormonism novel is one of the real gems I have discovered in my current research. It is almost impossible to find. I think that Ardis E. Parshall and I managed to corner the market on used copies on the Internet. But it compares very favorably with Virginia Sorensens _A Little Lower than the Angels_ and Maurine Whipples _The Giant Joshua_. Somebody ought to write a book. . . . oh wait. _Search, Ponder, and Pray: A Guide to the Gospels_, by Julie Smith: the most recent book in Koffords Contemporary Studies in Scripture series (of which _Re-reading Job_ and _Authoring the Old Testament_ are also a part) is perhaps the best example I have ever encountered of what can be done by writing a book comprised almost entirely of questions. I honestly did not think that such a format could yield such an excellent book. But it did.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 21:57:15 +0000